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While you can go back to eating Kale come Monday, tomorrow, July 19th, is National Ice Cream Day. You can start the celebration first thing, at breakfast. That’s because my homemade chocolate ice cream recipe has no refined sugar and no dairy either. It’s also loaded with antioxidants, fiber and phytonutrients. So yes, it’s basically a superfood chocolate ice cream recipe. Pretty cool, huh?
A Word About Where to Buy the Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream Superfood Ingredients
All of the ingredients for the superfood homemade chocolate ice cream recipe (the cacao powder, coconut milk, etc.) can be purchased at any well-stocked natural foods store or online at Amazon or Vitacost.com .
The Coconut Manna by Nutiva is a relatively new ingredient I have been using lately and it is absolutely perfect for making delicious homemade dairy-free ice creams. Since it is made purely of dried coconut flesh, it has the sumptuous full-fat “mouth feel” of dairy cream that is hard to replicate with non-dairy ingredients. Although many dairy-free homemade ice cream recipes call for coconut oil, I think the Coconut Manna is a much better ingredient. This can be purchased online at Amazon or at Vitacost.com
The Very Best Ice Cream Maker for Less than $60
Of course you will also need an ice cream maker to make ice cream. But investing in a high quality, high-performance ice cream maker is not as pricey as you might think.
As an ice cream aficionado, I have tried umpteen different ice cream makers over the years and hands down the very best one is the one that is the smallest, cheapest and least complicated. For less than what I spent on my coffee maker, the Cuisinart® Classic White Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker (which happens to currently be a #1 bestseller on Amazon.com with over 1,800 reviews!) is absolutely perfect for making homemade ice cream in quart-sized portions.
Although you can order the ice cream maker from Amazon, you can also get it from Sur La Table, which is where I bought mine (Sur La Table offers free shipping for this item, by the way.) I also picked up the nifty quart-sized Tovolo Ice Cream Storage Containers (in the photo below) from Sur La Table for less than $10. I didn’t really think the containers would be necessary and bought them more for fun, but unless you are going to eat the entire quart of ice cream in one day, you will definitely want to get a container to lock in freshness and prevent freezer burn.
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PinDescription
This clean homemade chocolate ice cream recipe is dairy free and has no refined sugar.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked in water for 4 to 5 hours
- 3/4 cup canned, chilled coconut “cream” (see notes below)
- 2 frozen bananas, chopped
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Manna by Nutiva (see article above for where to purchase)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder (such as Navitas Naturals)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix) and process until very smooth and creamy.
- Pour contents into an ice cream maker and follow manufacture’s instructions.
Notes
Coconut “Cream”: This is the thick, rich and non-watery part of canned coconut milk. To get the “cream” you need to refrigerate your coconut milk for 5 or 6 hours or pop it in the freezer for at least an hour. Once the coconut milk is cold, carefully remove the top with a can opener and use a spoon to scoop out the hardened coconut “cream” off the top. The “cream” is what you will be using for the ice cream recipe. You can reserve the liquid water for other smoothies.
What If You Just Want To Buy Your Ice Cream?
Unfortunately, I have not yet discovered a store-bought ice cream that is so pure and so nutritious that I feel good enough about giving to my son for breakfast. However, I definitely don’t always have time to make homemade ice cream. Click HERE to learn which brand of ice cream I like to buy and how I “health it up” a notch.
Do You Have a Favorite Homemade (& Healthy!) Ice Cream Recipe to Share?
If you have a delicious and nutritious homemade ice cream recipe to share we would love to know about it! Please leave a comment below and tell us all about it. xoxo–ivy
Hi Ivy! My husband and I love trying your recipes (especially ones like ice cream so we don’t feel like we’re missing out on a dessert staple)! 🙂 He has MS and also a decent amount of food allergies, so we’re always looking at modifications on top of your recipe modifications to fit what he can eat. That being said we made this recipe and loved it, but we’ve recently realized he doesn’t respond well to bananas 🙁 I was looking at your other ice cream recipes and they all include bananas. Do you have any suggestions for another fruit or ingredient that we can substitute and still get the same result?
Hi Kristin! Oh I am so happy to know you like trying our recipes =) It’s funny you mention the bananas because I have been getting more and more emails and Facebook notices from people saying they are allergic to bananas—so much so that it is starting to make me wonder what on earth is going on with our bananas! =( Anyway, I think frozen organic peaches might be the next best bet to the bananas–they have a creamy consistency when frozen and pureed and they really do not have a very strong flavor, so I think they should work. I would try 3/4 cup frozen peaches to 1 frozen banana. Please let me know how this works out if you give it a try!
Avocado works very well with chocolate and has good fats too. I added some to a morning choc banana smoothie and froze half for later. I was really good. 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion Frankie! I thought of that too but unfortunately the hubs is also allergic to avocadoes 🙁
That is very strange to hear more people are having issues with bananas! We used to make the no-milk shakes and fruit smoothie type drinks no problem and then all of a sudden he can’t eat them anymore – it does really make you wonder what is going on with them! In honor of Nat’l Ice Cream Day on Sunday we did try this recipe again with your peach suggestion (peeled and frozen because he’s allergic to the skin) and it was perfect! No strong peach flavor at all and the consistency was just the same. Thanks so much for the suggestion and help! My husband appreciates being able to enjoy his ice cream now 🙂
It’s crazy about the bananas, right? I can’t figure it out. All I know is that I am very surprised at how many people I keep hearing are allergic to them. I am wondering if it has anything to do with GMO’s? I would be curious if he was allergic to organic bananas? This is sort of a stretch, but I’m just curious? Anyway, I’m thrilled to know you it worked well with the peaches =)
Do you have recipes for sorbets?
Hi Deborah, I do not have recipes on the site for sorbets (yet!)—but they are on my “to make” list this summer for sure =) Hopefully you will check back in or feel free to sign up for our weekly newsletter (it’s free!), as I share all new weekly content there.
Ivy, I have noticed with all of your icecream recipes you use the VitaMix (which I just got and am loving!), but then the icecream maker. Since we are on a budget (and the VitaMix just broke it! LOL), I won’t be getting the icecream maker. Is there another way to forego that step and still get ICECREAM???!!!
Thanks,
Terri
Hi Terri! Oh my gosh, so sorry I somehow missed your comment and just now getting to it. I know! I know! I totally hear you on the cost issue =( I would have never bought one if it weren’t for the fact that I am CRAZY for ice cream and I actually use my machine at least once a week. But, if you are only going to make it once in a while I can see how you might now want to splurge. As for an ice cream maker substitute…hmmmm…I wonder if whipping the mixture in your Vitamix at a VERY LOW speed (which is sort of like what the ice cream maker does) and then semi-freezing it would work? You would have to eat it just before it totally hardens, but I have a feeling this technique might actually work! I had never thought of it until just now, but if you give it a go please let me know if it actually works 😉
I love the idea of ice cream for breakfast, and followed the recipe exactly, even soaked the mac nuts overnight! We all found it a bit nut-heavy, with an odd mouth feel. (I think it was the manna.) However, throwing the remainder of the frozen ice cream into the Vitamix, with 3 more dates, four pineapple chunks, the leftover coconut milk, an avocado, and 5 ice cubes … best darned breakfast drink, ever! I wish I’d tried freezing that, before it was gone.
★★★
I thoroughly enjoyed your book Clean Cuisine and am taking small steps to embrace and implement your philosophies and I continue to be impressed with your recipes. I especially like that you offer new “takes” on old favorites like this ice cream recipe…yumm!!!
Thank you for bringing your personal story and expertise to those of us that are seeking to improve our lives. You are a true inspiration.